Steven Universe: Star Emerald attacks!
by Jaketheripper
Summary: From the depths of the cosmos comes a stranger from a far away galaxy! The dangerous, mysterious Star Emerald has come to destroy the crystal gems! Will he succeed or will he succumb to Steven's aura of friendliness?
1. Chapter 1

FSteven Universe: Star Emerald strikes!

By Jaketheripper

There is no time in space, no real way to measure the passage of it except in distance traveled, and sometimes even that can warp your perception of time.

Star Emerald sat at the helm of his lightship, the droll passage of this immeasurable length weighing heavily on his shoulders. Yes, Star Emerald, the sword of Alpha Draconis is a He.

Why should he be? When all other gems seem to identify as female? The answer is simple, all Gems born on the worlds in the Alpha Draconis cluster identified in shape/form and mind as male, much to the chagrin of the female overseer who wasn't expecting such an odd mutation.

He and his brothers would have been shattered on the spot but for the feminine beauty of an agate which he immediately prostrated himself before, his mouthless face scrunching up in a need to say something that he could not, but the intention was clear, an act of submission that no other Beryl soldier had shown straight out of the ground.

They became the best soldiers in that quadrant, creating the Draconis Templar, the directorial power of Yellow Diamond allowed each Beryl Knight of this templar to take a female life partner from the local gem populace, mirroring the native organic Draconians and their customs, only that is, if it would Aid their zeal in combat, which it did.

It helped to have something to fight for, something to come home to, someone to worship and pamper while off duty.

Star Emerald had not been so lucky, for even amongst the other Beryl males he was strange.

During his gestation, a vein of Uranium had invaded his hole, defiling his essence, creating a Beryl anomaly within his gem, he was infused with the radioactive mineral and thus was gifted with powers beyond that of any other of his brothers.

He could control the radiation, blasts, forcefields, radiation attacks that scorched the earth on which he stood, slowly but surely depleting the thick vein of radioactive metal within him, you might think he was gifted, but in imperial Gem society, he was considered Abhorrent, ugly, the Agate he fell for wouldn't even look him in the eyes when he asked her.

However, since his powers made him a powerful combatant, he had been sent to a backwater planetoid called earth, where he was to quell the rebellion which had blossomed there like a flower of death.

Halfway there his light drive had broken, however, and he had to putter the rest of the way on sheer inertia and weapons fire.

So when he saw the blue and green orb on his screen, he breathed a sigh of relief out of his two innocuous nose holes, finally he could be done with this mission.

He had not, however, taken the extended implications of a lack of light drive, his landing systems were also out.

He let out a disgruntled sigh as his trajectory began to decay, perfect, JUST perfect.

Before the emergency systems triggered the electrolyte fluid to fill the cabin, he glimpsed a massive stone temple from the back, dedicated to a many-armed gem of unknown origin.

But then he slammed into a cornfield.

He kicked the dysfunctional hatch with angry zeal, grunting in triumph as the metal finally Gabe way! He slowly began to ooze out of the pod, settling into the muck that was the dirt of the cornfield before sitting up.

As the electrolyte fluid drained out of his ear canals, he picked up a high pitched voice, "LAZULI! LAZULI COME QUICKLY!"

His head snapped towards the sound, eyes squinting as to focus on the shrill shrieking Peridot who looked shaken by his appearance, he was used to this and showed his credentials before she could say anything, her look quickly went from shaken to fearful and he realized something was wrong, she was without limb enhancers, unusual for a Peridot, but on a rebellious colony this was a major red flag.

He reached into his gem with his one gauntlet clad hand and pulled out a dark green irradiated long sword, the guard was short and the blade was curved ever so slightly, he raised his sword only to be caught in the face by a massive blast of water! He staggered backward as he was waterlogged, but did not lose his footing as the stream slowly began to lose cohesion, falling apart as he slowly came to a halt.

His vision cleared and he saw the Lapis Lazuli standing there looking shocked, "what..."

The Peridot shouted angrily at her companion, "What are you waiting for, Lazuli!? Flush him!"

She lifted her hands, but could obviously no longer control the water she had pulled from the ocean behind her, "I...can't..."

If Star Emerald could smile, he would, he knew what this was, he had irradiated the water, even on accident, the effect was the same, she could no longer control the irradiated water! He continued forward, grabbing the Rebellious Peridot who was trying to do something with her hands.

"LET ME GO YOU MOUTHLESS MEGACLOD!" He plunged his sword into her without pausing to ruminate on that insult, then, her gem in hand, turned to the Lapis who had let out a wordless shriek of fear and despair as she saw Star Emerald poof her friend.

"Wait...wait...are you from homeworld?" Lapis held up her hands, Star Emerald tilted his head to the side slightly before he nodded worldlessly, Lapis let out a relieved sigh, "oh thank the Diamonds!" She crossed her arms in the diamond salute and Star Emerald's eyes widened, he had committed friendly fire!

He prostrated himself before the Lapis Lazuli, presenting his credentials as well as his orders, she took them hesitantly, "yes, well...You won't find any quartz here...ours...was shattered by the rebels?" Lapis was making this up as she went along, but it seemed to cause the mutant gem to stop in its murderous advance, "You will go into the organic city center, there you will draw the rebels out by destroying things."

Star Emerald stood, his directive clearly in mind, he turned back towards where he had seen the primitive cityscape, marching obediently in that direction, dropping the poofed Peridot as he went on.

Lapis immediately rushed towards Peridot's tablet and called Steven, who answered immediately, "LAPIS! How are you?"

"Steven, you need to get to beach City right now, there's some sort of mutant gem and he just poofed Peridot! It's on its way to Beach city."

Steven looked scared, "oh no! Why's it attacking Beach city!?"

Lapis sighed, looking sad, "I sent it there...look, I didn't know what else to do! It was going to shatter us..."

Steven didn't even say anything, he just hung up, leaving Lapis with the thought that he may not want to talk to her after this.

Steven, Connie, and the Crystal Gems were already on their way to Beach city when Star Emerald arrived.

His first encounter with humans was one to remember, as he entered the city, a balding man saw him and yelled in terror before running away.

He slashed a massive gash into a nearby building, causing part of it to crumple as he began to roam the town, taking glee in frightening the inhabitants of the small town.

As he was beginning to close in on a human who not only refused to move but had drawn a sword on him, "I am BLOODSTONE! Face me!" He shouted, brandishing his sword!

Funny, the boy didn't look like a gem, but who was he to argue, he took a duelist stance and bowed honorably. Which the boy responded in kind.

"Ronoldo stop!"

Star Emerald turned to see the shield of Rose Quartz, his eyes widened as he turned to face the oncoming group comprised of a pearl, a stunted Amethyst, a large, beautiful fusion and a...human? it struck Star as odd when the one bringing Rose's standard was a human child, but he ran with the rebels, so it was his job to shatter the lot of them.

"Stop! who are you and why are you attacking Beach City?!" Asked the child, Star Emerald looked the child up and down as he lowered his sword, looking from his diminutive shape to the shield on his arm, to the female standing beside him, "Answer him!" shouted the pearl, Star Emerald let out a huff of silent laughter through his nose, a PEARL was addressing him this way, this world really had corrupted them somehow.

the boy lowered his shield, "I don't think...he can."

the large fusion pointed, "It is a He, isn't it? how is that possible? and why without a mouth?"

Star Emerald twirled his longsword and beckoned to the group, tired of the talk he could not engage in, The Pearl twirled her spear in response, "HE's obviously from homeworld! We have to stop him before he destroys Beach City!"

Star Emerald cast a stoic eye around, they kept referencing this city, as if its existence was important to them on more than a sentimental level, this gave him an idea.

Star began to glow, the uranium in his gem flaring up as he began to pulse with green energy, he punched the ground, there was no shockwave or blast, but around him all the green began to brown, all the plant life around him began to slowly blacken and fade, Steven gasped as Garnet shouted at him, "Bubble Connie, Steven! NOW!"

The boy did this as the effects of the radiation began to be seen in the wooden boards of the pier, Star increasing the radiation all the time as the Crystal Gems gave back, grabbing as many of the fragile organics as they could in their escape

This was his victory for Homeworld, the death of life on earth, even if he was to be shattered, he would take what they loved from them, just as he was incapable of receiving love. Maybe if he survived they'd give him a pearl, maybe then somebody would love him.

In the middle of his reverie, the fusion was upon him, large and purple and beautiful, he forgot to channel his power for a second and then she laid into him with a flurry of angry blows that each shattered his body's bones into smaller and smaller pieces, before allowing him to finally poof.

he woke up inside a room full of bubbled gems, he opened his...mouth? his experience on earthed had caused his new body to develop a mouth! barely visible as it was without any lips, he opened it, feeling the inside of it with a new tongue, he could taste, he could salivate, it was...insane to say the least.

"You're awake..." Star Emerald sat up as he gasped audibly this time, "wuh!?"

"Oh wow! Look at you with a mouth!" Steven walked over, "I'm Steven! Whats your name?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Star...Em...merald..."

The words staggered from Star's mouth, as if he was only just now remembering how.

"B-beryl cut 367K, facet 76GK...mouth...why do i have a mouth?"

Steven shrugged as he sat down, "Dunno, Pearl says you take things you see before you poof and use them when youu reform, like...you see a bunch of creatures with mouths and now you have one...do they not have mouths where you come from?"

Star emerald shakes his head, "no, no we don't, Alpha Draconians didn't have them, so we didn't."

Star Emerald runs his tongue over his teeth, "ech...everything feels weird."

Steven sighed, "what did you do to Beach City?" He stood up, "the Government says that it's uninhabitable because of radiation."

Star emerald's mouth creeped into an undisguised grin, being that he was new to the muscle, it was jagged and uneven, coupled with his wide eyes, he looked unnerving, "I wanted to rob you of your pets, that way you might see sense and cease this rebellion."

Steven's face grew grim, "so you ARE here from homeworld to attack us."

Star emerald chuckled, "no, no, to shatter you, all of you, Yellow Diamond ordered you dead, the rebels are to be shattered on sight...however I was told there was enemy occupation here, not that you had taken over the whole planet."

Steven blinked, "how long ago were you sent? Because all that sounds outdated to me."

Star looked down at the boy, "why are you here? You're not an officer...you're a..." he beheld the gem in the boy's belly, remembering the shield from the fight, "no...you cant be...Rose Quartz?!"

Steven shook his head, "no, I'm male like you, name's Steven, I was born here and you just drove my friends away from their homes and buisinesses!"

Star Emerald reached down to pick him up but was unable to, "Hyperdensity...a quartz skill..' mumbled Star before poking him in the cheek, "but soft like...gelatin...how can you be HALF organic? Is that a thing now?"

Steven glares at him and swats his armored hand away, "here on earth it is, now how do we fix the irradiation of Beach City?"

For the first time in his long life, Star Emerald laughed, it was a manic sound, something not loud, but very unnerving, "do you not know what Radiation does? Do they not have a school here on this mudball?"

Garnet strode in after that question, she's popping her knuckles, "You need to fix what you've done."

Star Emerald couldnt help but stare at her, half incredulous, half entranced, "you...are so beautiful...how can you be so stupid? Once I iradiate an area it's...dead, there's no bringing the organics back, none, its over, your "beach city" is dead." He stands up and Garnet squares herself, "stop right there." She holds out a gauntlet clad hand as Star began to move towards her.

He doesn't halt his advance and instead somersaults over her head and rushes towards the door, drawing his sword once more as he leaps through it, flying past a shocked Amethyst and impaling Pearl as he propels himself into the house with Steven and Garnet in hot pursuit.

Steven yelled, "PEARL! NO!" As the surprised servant gem dissipated in his hands, "put her down!"

Star Emerald had that unnerving smile again as he turned to face them, "The only reason I entertained you is so I could get that massive beauty out of the doorway, I think I'll take this, you owe it me for the inconvinience of being interrogated "

After that, he ran out of the door and on to the beach, which had become a camp for the residents of Beach City, parked in their cars all along it, he sprinted down the beach and came up short at the water as Greg stepped into his way, "Hold it right there man."

"Dad! Get away from him!" Star Emerald heard Steven shout from the balcony as he hurried down the way, "dad." Mouthed Star, he heard steven again, "Get away from him he's dangerous!"

Greg shrugged around him, "I dunno Schtu-ball, He seems pretty stopped to...me..." Greg felt a hand on his chest as he finished his sentence, Star Emerald's grin malicious in nature once more as he pumped a small dose of radiation into Greg's body cavity, Greg himself suddenly felt ill and fell to one knee as Star ran into the ocean.

"Dad! Oh no...no no no NO!" Steven came to a stop as Greg fell to his side, the radiation doing its job as Star Emerald made his escape into the deep ocean.

As Greg looked up at steven he clutched at his son with ever weakening hands, "Steven...steven don't panic...its gonna...its gonna be ok..." he coughed and took in a shuddering breath, "oh man this...feels horrible..."

As the gems all clustered around Greg, helicopters blazed over the clifftop, tanks and boats making themselves known as they came around the bend, soldiers in Hazmat suits sweeping the area.

"ATTENTION BEACH CITY, WE ARE THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES, WE ARE HERE TO FACILITATE SAFE EVACUATION AND RADIATION CLEANUP!" a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair in a suit and tie was on a megaphone at the head of the beach, Steven had heard of the military but had never seen them, "Hey! My dad's been hurt!"

The man in the suit walks up to Steven and the gems, "Ah, the Crystal Gems." Says the man, "what menace from the depths of space do we have to deal with today?"

Amethyst got in the way, "who the heck are you? Get away from Steven!"

"Amethyst!" Garnet chided, "This is Agent Amici, he and Pearl are the reason the Military wasnt already in beach city."

"I want to help mr. Universe...im a fan."

Amethyst lets Agent Amici through, he kneels next to steven, "hey there kid..." steven gasped as Amici touched the gem in steven's belly button, "what are you..." steven shuddered however, after Amici's hand began to glow pink, he moved his hand over to Greg's chest which was slowly turning black, "It seems like you posess more power than you may know, Steven universe."

He touched Greg's chest and the blackness began to recede, "hrm...I didnt know you were THIS powerful...with enough energy from you I could probably clean the whole town in a matter of days."

Connie rushes over, "Steven! Whats going...on?"

She watched in awe as Greg got color in his skin again, "I mean it steven, theres an insane ammount of power in your gem...would you help me clean up Beach city?"

Steven was aghast at how Amici had just taken some power from him and used it on Greg, "What...are you?" He asked, Amici smiled, "Oh boy, Pearl hasn't told you...I suppose we'd best go inside then...but first we have to tet your father inside so he can rest."

At those words, Amici hefted Greg into his arms, cradling the large man like a baby as he walked back into the house

Amethyst, Garnet, Steven and connie all sat down at the table as Agent Amici laid Greg down in the den.

"Ok, as to what I am..." Amici sighed, "Im not sure there IS a title...because Steven, the only other gem being like me that I can think of...is you."

The whole table gasped, "wait...you're half gem?" Steven stood up as Amici nodded, removing his jacket, "Using scientific data taken from various gem encounters on a global scale, combined with Pearl's helpful insight into exactly how you were concieved...my...father, created me." As he spoke, he unbuttoned the dress shirt he was wearing, revealing a clear gem in the center of his chest, "Father used some fragments of shattered gems to create a non sentient Prism, and grafted it to my heart...I can take and use Gem powers because my Gem is clear and light just shines through it...together with moth-Pearl...we've been able to keep the people of the US safe from gem incursions where there ARE no crystal gems."

Steven walked over to touch the prism in Amici's chest, "why'd you call pearl Mother?"

Amici sighed, "she guided my father, gave him the tools and knowledge to create me...I've always considered her my mother...where IS she, by the way?"

The group looked at eachother uneasily, "she was taken by the same gem that irradiated Beach City..." says Amethyst, "A male gem named Star Emerald."

Amici's face darkened, "well then...after you help me soak up the radiation from around Beach City, we can get on...that."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Pearl came to in a dark cave, she was lying on a towel, sitting next to her in a kneel was Star Emerald, the look on his now complete face was stoic and contemplative, "a-hah!' She gasped as she tried to struggle away, however Star pulled her back with little effort by one of her skinny ankles, she kicks him in the face but is grabbed and held still by Star, who is looking more and more annoyed.

"You are not...please, I just want to talk."

The green blade touched itself to Pearl's gem and she shivered, heat rose off the blade in the cold of the underwater cavern, heat from the radiation it was laced with, "I. Want. To. Talk...peacefully."

Pearl looked from him to the blade pressed into her forehead. "...fine, talk."

Star sighed, "I know the crystal Gems didn't rebel for no reason, Pink Diamond was shattered, by Rose Quartz, that itself warrants at least a question or two, what. In the wide galaxy inspired a Quartz to suddenly break rank and...do something like this?"

Pearl blinks, "You ask an awful lot of questions for someone who was sent to shatter us."

The blade pressed harder into Pearl's gem, "I'm curious." Growled Star, his expression getting super serious, Pearl stammered, she'd never felt this helpless before, "I...um...The Crystal Gems stand for freedom, you know what the Diamond authority does to worlds, totally stripped, destroyed, Rose Quartz saw this planet and all its wonderful organic life and chose to say no, no this planet won't be turned into a floating dead rock, we'll make a better colony, one where Gems could be who they wanted to be, with who they wanted to be..." Pearl looked away and blushed, thinking about Rose.

That last one hit Star Emerald at his core, these gems weren't defective or off color, they just wanted freedom, to live and to love as he and his brothers had back on alpha Draconis, the oddity here is that it was granted them when they asked, the option to take a life partner, though he did not know what total freedom meant, did they know they could have just asked for these things?

he sat back against the wall, lowering his sword, "so I suppose you were Pink Diamond's Pearl then." Pearl's breath caught in her newly reformed chest, "I mean to my knowledge there were no other Pearls on earth before the war began so...that leaves ONLY one answer for me."

Pearl looked away, "Yes...I let my Diamond be shattered by Rose Quartz."

Star seized her around her shoulders, she gasped, "What posessed you to do something so blatantly treasonous!? Why?"

Pearl gazed into Star's eyes, tears in her own, "You've never been in love, have you?"

Star let her go, she fell to her knees, he himself turned away this time, "I have...and it was the greatest source of pain in my life, something I hate myself for to this day."

Pearl looked up, "Hate yourself? Why would you?"

Star grumbled, "She hated me...and yet she knew I would do anything for her...so she embarrassed me, abused me until I could take it no longer, she nearly shattered me, I let myself get into that situation, and I was too stupid to see how detrimental it was at the time."

Pearl's eyes widened, "she...did that to you? Why?"

Star Emerald sat, "She knew I loved her, but she hated me for my deformity...there's a vein of radioactive rock running through my gem. It's an eyesore, its why i dont have a life partner."

Pearl put a hand to her chin, "so...that's how you were able to irradiate the town?"

Star Emerald nodded, "Yes, I think its why they sent me here, my brothers and I were used to extinct whole planets of organics before they sent me here, I was the best at it though."

Pearl rolled her eyes, "I can imagine...so why don't you just shatter me? Didnt I hear you say that it was your mission?"

Star Emerald stood and knelt down next to pearl, "You and the Crystal Gems have something I can't have, and I want it, I want something more out of life than killing or destruction, acclaim or fame, I want companionship."

There was a moment of silence while Star glared down at Pearl with a devious glint in his eye, then it clicked, "Hwa-me!? you have to be...kidding...arent you?"

Star Emerald's look grew more intense, "

Star Emerald made a sudden movement that caused Pearl to jerk away, however Star was faster and tackled her, pinning her to the cold stone flat on her back with an animalistic grunt!

The moment however, was intereupted by a splash, Star and Pearl both looked to the side to see Jasper with her feet in a pool of water across the cave, sitting against a rock, "well don't mind me, I was just enjoying the show."

"Jasper!" The sight of such a long term enemy causing her to thrash beneath Star Emerald as he gazed at this new voyeur, "Who...are you?" He asked, intrigued.

Jasper jabbed a thumb at herself, "Name's Jasper, I'm the fiercest quartz that ever came out of this cursed planet...but I think the real question is...who are you?"

Back in Beach City, Amici and Steven were cleaning the radiation from the now abandoned city, using Steven's powers to turn the deadly radiation into harmless sunlight and channeling it back into the atmosphere using Amici's gem!

Steven wiped his forehead as Amici's gem ceased shooting rainbows, "...alright...so is that it? Please tell me that's it...im exhausted."

Amici sighed, "I've still got enough of your power that I can finish the job myself kid, it'll be a few more days before its safe again, but I'm glad you were here to help...go check on your dad."

Steven left Amici to continue his work, his existence still befuddled Steven, another half gem, and one that had been made in a lab! It was simply mind boggling, Garnet seemed to trust him and Pearl wasnt here to confirm or deny his claims, this on top of the aparently pure intentions he had made steven lean towards trusting him.

Connie met steven at the door of his home, "Greg's up and about and he wants to talk to you."

Steven rushed inside, connie at his heels, Greg looked harrowed, he definitely had more gray in his hair than before, "hey steven."

The two hugged, "It occurs to me that I haven't properly prepared you for-" garnet busts the door down, "Greg!" She rushes over, picking him up by his shoulders, "There is no need for that speech now, Steven has enough on his plate as it is."

Greg wobbled and then sat back down when Garnet released him, "Garnet I understand, but I was feeling myself die! While I'm glad mr. Amici was there to save me this time, I want Steven to understand I wont be here forever..."

Steven rushed to his father in a flying hug, "don't talk like that!"

Greg reciprocates the hug with a grim sigh, "I don't want to leave without saying goodbye but on the offchance something does happen I need you to be prepaired, steven..."

Connie hugged steven from behind as Garnet huffed, "We'll deal with that when the time comes, BUT, right now we need to focus on recovering Pearl."

Steven looked up at her, "Garnet, he told me that he was sent to shatter us, all of us, and I think thats why he took pearl.' Connie gasped, "He wouldnt!'

Garnet put a hand on Steven's shoulder, "I don't see anything that would indicate that-" Steven batted her hand away, "Your future vision's been wrong before! Heck you didn't see him escaping when we had him in the temple! We saw him go into the water we need to follow him! Lets go! Now!" In his Fervor, steven rushed out on to the beach and stopped, looking on in horror as dead fish washed ashore from a corpsewater ocean, filled with dead fish, everyone on the beach is panicking as Amici walks over, "oh god...no..."

Steven took off his shirt, "Leave my ocean alone!"

Amici tried to stop Steven from running out into the ocean but came up short when Jasper sprung from the surf, holding aloft Pearl who was still struggling, "This belongs to you, doesn't it, Rose?"

"Steven! Don't listen to her its a tr-mrglflrfgl"

Jasper shoved Pearl's head beneath the waves before she could say anything else, "Me and my new Life Partner are going to end your puny little rebellion one way or another, surrender your position on this planet or Star Emerald is going to kill your oceans."

Jasper began to laugh as Steven fell to his knees, Amici however, shouted to the armed men who had been watching this exchange with mild confusion, "Hostile front and center! clear civillians and open fire!"

After shouting for everyone to get out of the way, the soldiers all opened up on Jasper, to some effect, the bullets dug into her and she yelled angrily as she rushed the soldiers, dropping pearl in the process of batting them each aside like bowling pins before she rushed towards Amici, "Did you think that could stop me!?"

Using the last of Steven's power he had in reserve, Amici created a wall that she ran into, yelling angrily as she tried to get around, during the confusion of her indecision, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a big handgun with a bolt action pin on it, he points it at Jasper, her agression now focused on breaking down the wall until, under her continued assault, the pink wall cracked and Amici pulled the trigger.

There was a gunshot, a 10 inch wide hole appeared in the energy wall as well as a massive hole in Jasper's chest! The quartz staggers away from the wall and sits down, agast, "wh...what?" She felt the hole, the energy wall vanishes and Amici cocks the gun again, a massive shell flying out before he replaced the bolt, pointing the gun again, "never heard of hollowpoints? Ok well how about 50 caliber hollowpoints? That's what just put a hole in your damn chest!"

Jasper tried to stand but another bullet shredded her shoulder! She yelled in pain and resorted to rolling back into the surf, Amici took one more shot before he gave up the chase, rushing over to pearl who had already pulled herself further up the dead beach.

Steven was helping her up, "What happened?"

Pearl hadn't answered, instead she was looking at the military occupation of the dessicated and smelly beach, looking at Amici with a look of defeat, "you promised me that you'd keep the military out of beach city, Amici..."

The agent holstered his gun, "satelite alert systems told us that we had a chernobyl incident nowhere near any nuclear reactor, it was do or die at that point."

Pearl embraced Amici, looking worried, "This new Gem has to be stopped, or I fear all life on this planet is doomed...everything we worked for...what Rose worked for..."

Amici nodded, "we have to find him."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Why did you stop?" Star looked up from the pool of water that was the entrance to the ocean beyond and above the cave, back at Jasper who had asked the question, "My power is dependent on the ore inside my gem, believe it or not, the power is finite, and if I use too much of it at once I could cause the ore to change phases, this would have the effect of changing my physical body in unknown ways, and funnily enough, if I do end up shifting it will be the 2nd time its happened in my life, the ore, not my physical body."

Jasper stood from her seat at the back of the cave, "I've seen what a little can do, are you sure you can't push yourself just a little farther? Make this place untouchable to organics?" Star raised an eyebrow, "You never told me why you were so badly injured when you came back, You worried me."

It was jasper's turn to look confused, "Why do you care so much? Did you really mean all that garbage about needing a Life Partner? To be honest it sounds like something an organic would say."

Star sighed, "Back on Alpha Draconis, when we came to be, my brothers and I were at first percieved to be faliures, different bodies, different minds, not fit to be soldiers...but then I saw her, A beautiful Moss Agate, standing before me as if she were the answer to my mind's biggest question, and I fell at her feet."

Jasper looked incredulous as Star continued, "We all did, doomed as we were, we were simply enthralled by the beauty of the other gems, female gems...so subservient were we that when we asked yellow diamond the boon of Life partners for the male gems of Alpha draconis, mirroring the traditions of its now dead organic populace, it was granted to us, because it made us fiercer warriors, to have the promise of contact with one who cared for our well being."

Jasper huffed, "Fighting for your diamond wasn't enough? You had to put some stinky Moss Agate above the perfection of the Diamonds?"

Star's expression darkened, "That Moss Agate was indeed stinky, but no one can ever be put over the diamonds, you above all must know that, Jasper...no, we simply wanted companionship, plain and simple, that through pain and hardship, and in our darkest hour, we would have a bright light to show us the way when we could not see, I see that light in you, Jasper, I don't know what I was thinking, kidnapping that rebel pearl." Star's eyes had gone glassy, Jasper could see herself in them, and she was surprised by the expression on her own face.

"Now whether you were just placating me or if you actually held any interest for the idea, I feel that what you said at the beginning was correct, together we can crush this rebellion, I just need time to rest and replenish my power so I don't accidentally shift."

Star walked back into the cave and sat down, closing his eyes, and after a time, Jasper Joined him, sitting with her back against the same rock, looking at him as he slowly drifted into unconciousness.

Back in the temple, the Crystal Gems sat at the dinner table, Amici sat sheepishly as Greg, who had only recently gotten better, eyed him from the opposite side.

Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet sat at their usual places at the table, leaving steven and Connie to sit on the far side next to greg, who had a protective arm around them both.

"Pearl..." steven offered the first spoken word in over a minute to the silent void, "Why did you never tell us about Amici? The Military? It seems pretty important that someone who calls you "Mom" and is half gem exists, isnt it?"

Amethyst, who was sitting upside down in her chair, chuckled, "He's got you there, P, but Garnet knows something too, so both of you need to, like, spill."

The two looked at each other, then Pearl looked at the surrounding table, "well Steven...its complicated...it started before you were born, and concluded some time after you turned two, there was a time when the Crystal Gems worked with the US Military to keep Beach City safe, they tried to recruit us, but Rose told them no."

Garnet nods, "This repeated several times before Rose told them to get out of Beach City around the same time she met greg...they refused, claiming they had no way to stop any other gem incursions in areas we were not, so they asked for our help creating countermeasures."

Pearl sighed, "I helped them, using remnants of old gem tech I helped them create some anti gem weapons, provided them with several shattered corrupted gems to give them an idea of how we worked, Rose didn't stop me, she was so proud that I was having independent thoughts that uh...when they asked to interview her she didn't flinch away, by the time this happened she was already pregnant, and they were very interested in the concept of a hybrid."

Garnet sighed, "and it was already obvious why they were."

Pearl turned to Garnet, "obvious? Obvious!? How about you tell me when fusing two non consenting organisms makes sense!?"

Garnet looked at Amici with a knowing smile, "It was obvious."

Pearl groaned, "whatever, it was a bit before we were given back the remains of the gems I'd given them, then they showed us what they'd done." Pearl looked harrowed just recounting the events, "A boy, no older than 13, sitting in a room with a gem sticking out of his chest..."

Garnet smiled, "seeing what they'd done, Pearl and I took him, oh they tried to stop us, but Pearl was adamant in her desire to get him back to the temple to keep him safe."

It was then that Pearl got up and sat next to Amici, who offered a hug that she agreed to.

Garnet continued, "we got to the temple and Rose was perturbed to say the least, but said she was proud of Pearl's choice to help him, knowing they'd be on the temple soon, she sent us through a warp to a location far far away, where we spent a while keeping little Amici safe."

Amici sighed as Pearl was still hugging him, "Then they came to get me, using the anti gem weapons they were able to get me away from them, I tried to help but I was to young, no real grasp of my power."

Pearl looked over at Steven and sighed, "then you were born, we didn't really hear from him til 3 years later when a massive corrupted gem attacked the temple."

"Mom..." Amici tried to interrupt but Pearl put a finger over his lips, "it was during the fight that he rode in on a helicopter, this was a surprise, as we hadn't seen the military anywhere near beach city after they took him...anyway, he used a device he called a shatter bomb to completely destroy it's gem."

Steven looked wide eyed at Amici, who sighed, rolling his eyes "here we go."

Pearl huffed, "We then tried to explain the process of bubbling, but his first words when he saw the bubble room were, and I quote-"

"Mom!" Amici groaned, only to have Pearl growl at him, "Be silent!" A command which he obliged with a somewhat unwilling face, "and I quote..." pearl continued, "Let me get my napalm."

Steven was shocked, but his eyes held more questions than the shock itself, "but why?"

Amici looked at Pearl with an angry expression and she waved her hand as if giving him permission, "I had orders to destroy any corrupted gems I came across."

Pearl put her hand over his mouth again, "We tried to educate him."

Garnet threw her hands up, "oh we tried."

Pearl nodded, "and that is what led to the argument that there was no hope for the corrupted, which led to me telling him not to come back."

Amici pulled her hand away, "And all things considered I think it wasn't a good idea, taking into account that there are now sentient hostile gems that threaten the whole world, I'm pretty sure-"

"Wait a minute!" Amethyst stood up in her chair, "How come I dont remember you? If you came through the temple there has to have been a time I saw you but I still dont remember you!"

Pearl thought it over, "I don't recall seeing you at the time either, neither times in fact, I mean, maybe you were off with Vidalia."

Amethyst puts a hand to her head, "I did spend a lot of time with her back then, so that makes sense...but still, no one even mentioned him."

Pearl sighed, "there were a lot of emotions at play, alright? And I think I've shown im not the best when it comes to dealing with those."

Steven gets up and walks over to Amici, who at this point had scooted away from Pearl to avoid her silencing him again, "So...I'm guessing you're here to shatter Star Emerald huh?"

Amici nodded solemnly, "even if he wasn't radioactive I'd have to kill him, he attacked a US Citizen and endangered so many other lives with this stunt, it's absolutely non negotiable."

Steven sulked, "I just wish I could do...what did you call it again? The thing that lets me get rid of radiation?"

Amici nodded, "It's called transmutation, changing one form of something into something else, like how we changed all that radiation into sunlight."

Connie finally spoke up from her spot at the table, "If you teach Steven how to do it, I'm sure we can find a less drastic way for this to end." She rushes over, "is that possible?"

Amici sighed, scratching his chin, "well I don't know exactly how to describe how its done, it just sort of did it by itself, minimal effort on my part...as ive said before I only channel this stuff, i cant make it do things it doesnt already do. Steven's gem only really does two things, it heals and it protects, transmutation is part of the healing power I think."

Connie ran out of the room and came back with a bucket of radioactive corpse water from the beach, "There isn't any time to lose if we're going to be fighting him!"

Greg gasped as he saw the water, "and like that im sleeping in my van tonight! Later guys!"

Beneath the ocean, Star Emerald had finished resting and was discussing battle plans with Jasper, "so, you say they have fusion on their side? As in, they fuse with each other on a regular basis?"

"Yes." Jasper nodded, "without any regard for common decency, that's how they dealt with me before, back when that traitor, Lapis Lazuli and I fused together to create Malachite."

Star thought on this, "Then why not fuse together ourselves? It sounds like it'd be easy enough." He says, having no clue how it works. "I mean ive never done it myself but you seem to have experience."

Jasper groaned, "you mean you've never fused before? With anyone?"

Star Emerald shook his head, "nope, nobody, never really had to, I was pretty formidable on my own, that and us Male gems were viewed as too different to fuse so I was up against a wall there."

Jasper sat back down on the rock she'd been sitting on, "Then I'll have to teach you, the fundamental of Fusing is that we have to be in sync, totally, or it won't work, usually this involves some sort of dance, but I've seen rubies fuse just by standing on each other."

Star sighed and sat back down too, "How did you fuse with Lapis?"

Jasper suddenly lashed out and decked Star, he wasn't expecting it, he fell off his seat as Jasper growled, "We do not speak of Lapis Lazuli."

Star got to his feet, "she did something that hurt you didnt she."

Jasper stood, ready to hurt Star again before he looked at her, a calm expression on his face, even a sympathetic one, "If you have some pent up agression to work out against her, by all means lets spar, I feel like it'd be cathartic."

Jasper grabbed Star by the front of his armor, pulling him close, "I have no need of Catharsis, I need to crush my enemies!"

Star raised an eyebrow, "which would be cathartic?"

She angrily threw him across the cave, embedding his body in the wall befofe he peeled himself loose, "Good, good, do you feel better?"

Jasper had taken a seat once more, "no, no I don't." She put her head in her hands, "I don't understand why you care so much, you barely know me."

Star sat next to her, "Then let me get to know you, talk to me."

Jasper glared up at him, "Talk? What good will that do?" Star tapped her gem, "I learned back on Alpha Draconis, while that Stinky Agate was treating me like a footstool, that talking to someone who has nothing to do but listen makes all the difference, it will make your burden feel less so, or at least it'll give you someone to dump your feelings on so you can fight without restrictions."

Jasper took in a deep breath and exhaled, "Where do I start...?


End file.
